Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.4 percent higher at 4,303.90 and mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.3 percent to 2,417.15. Some markets swung back and forth between positive and negative territory in early trading.

Asian investors were cautious even after U.S. stocks climbed following a report that said jobless aid applications fell to a four-year low helped.

Offsetting the optimism was a European Commission forecast that the combined economies of the 17 nations that use the euro would shrink in 2012, raising concerns that austerity programs are holding back growth. Poor economic growth in Europe would also hurt demand for goods manufactured in Asia.

"When Europe enters into a recession, it will hurt exporting economies in Asia like China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan. And so, it will be reflected in the economic growth for these countries and eventually in the earnings of the blue chip stocks," said Francis Lun, managing director at investment company Lyncean Holdings.

"So that's why investors are quite cautious now. The market has reached a peak and now it's ready to consolidate."

Another report said German business confidence rose in February for a fourth straight month, but some analysts noted that the report also highlighted disparities in growth across Europe.